When Colour Narrates: Colour as a Narrative Tool in Audio-visual Storytelling

Abstract

This thesis explores the use of colour as a narrative tool within the realm of cinema. Even though colours have taken up a considerable role in the history of film, colour theory and colour aesthetic have not received reasonable attention in film studies compared to other fields. The thesis reflects upon why this might be the case based on the hypothesis by David Bachelor that a history long “chromophobia” has existed in the arts in the Western world. The paper then seeks to give an overview of relevant theory of colour that tries to shed light on the multiplex nature of colour itself, and in continuation to that, its ability to convey meaning within audio-visual story-telling. Finally, this paper shall investigate the selected works by three directors - Eric Rohmer, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Alfred Hitchcock - that utilize colour narratively within their work but in various ways. It is the aim of this thesis that the analysis supported by theory shall prove the quality and unique property of colour in audio-visual storytelling.